THE SXJMlSrER ^SSA.ULT. 

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SPEECH 



OP 



HOI. JOM ALLISON, OF PEINSYLVAnA, 



IN THE HOUSE OF EEPEESENTATIVES, 



JULY 11. 185 6. 



WASHINGTON, D. C. 

BtTBLL k BLANOHARD, PRINTERS. 
* 1856. 









t^.H 



SPEECH OF MR. ALLISON. 



Mr. ALLISON. It is not my purpose, Mr. 
Speaker, to occupy a great deal of time in what 
I have to say upon this subject. I shall try to 
narrow it down as much as possible, and to pre- 
sent it in the smallest possible compass. 

Before, however, I enter upon my argument, 
I feel called upon to notice a remark made by the 
gentleman from North Carolina, [Mr. Cling- 
MAN,] who opened this discussion. I under- 
stood him to say, that when he first came to this 
House, the Senate was an orderly and dignified 
body, until four or five Abolitionists, as he was 
pleased to call them, entered into the Senate of 
the United States ; and we are to infer, I sup- 
pose, that the entrance into the Senate of those 
who held to the opinion that there should be no 
extension of Slavery, was the cause of all the 
difficulties that have arisen there, and agitated 
the country during the last five or six years. 
Now, sir, I think it is due to the Senators to 
whom the gentleman alluded, and to the States 
which they represent, that the facts should be 
understood by the people. 

I believe, sir, if my recollection serves me, 
that the gentleman from New York, [Mr. Sew- 
ard,] who is distinguished not more for his em- 
inent ability than he has ever been for the cour- 
teous deportment that has characterized his Sen- 
atorial life, entered upon the duties that he was 
called upon to discharge by that great State, in 
the fall of 1849, at a time when the country was 
agitated on account of the disposition of terri- 
tory acquired by the war with Mexico. The 
question of Slavery was incidental to the dispo- 
sition of that territory. It was brought up of 
necessity, and the Senator from New York, 
shortly after entering upon the duties of his of- 
fice, felt called upon to resist the efi"ort that was 
then being made to extend Slavery over the 
territories that we had acquired. Every gen- 
tleman present will remember with what inter- 



est those discussions were listened to and read 
throughout the country, and they will remember 
that very great excitement was produced by 
those discussions. 

The gentleman from New York, to whom I 
allude, delivered a speech of signal ability, 
which thrilled the country, defining his position, 
and sustaining the views and principles of the 
people that he represented. That speech was 
not received by some Senators with the appro- 
bation that had been accorded to many other 
speeches that had been made, in which difi'erent 
ground had been taken. A very distinguished 
Senator from South Carolina, now in his grave, 
felt called upon to notice that speech, and to 
notice the Senator who made it, and to notice 
him in such a way as was calculated to injure 
and affect a gentleman newly entering upon 
such a theatre. After the debate had progressed 
for some time, there was a proposition to raise 
a committee of thirteen, for the purpose of sub- 
mitting a plan by which peace should be restor- 
ed to the country and quiet throughout the land. 
It was discussed for some time. A good deal 
of acrimony and bitterness was aroused; and a 
Senator from Mississippi, Mr. Foote, now a resi- 
dent of California, participated in the discus- 
sion, and was very active in using his influence 
to induce the Senate to appoint the committee. 
At one point, in speaking of the probable result 
of that effort, he said that he thought, upon con- 
sultation with various members of the Senate, 
that that proposition would be acceded to, and 
that the committee would be raised. Mr. Cal- 
houn, to whom I allude, said that he had not 
consulted with the Senators : 

" Mr. Foote, of Mississippi. I am on good terms wilh 
everybody. 

J' Mr. Calhoun. I am not. I will not be on good term* 
with those who wish to cut my throat The honorable Sen- 
ator from New York [Mr. Sewaku] justifies the North in 
treachery. I am not to hold social intercourse with such 
as these. 



"Mr. FooTE. I think he [Mr. Sewakd] will have to be 
g:iven up 

"Air. Calhoi'N I recornise them as Senators, say gcol 
mon ing, and shake hajids wilh them; but that is the ex- 
tent of" my iiiterpour-!e with thoe who I tlii 'k fre enrla'i- 
penng t e Union.'' — Seriate Proceerthifs, March 15, 1S50. 
Congressional Globe, vol. 1, pari 1, 1849-"50. 

That was the first attempt to break down a 
Senator because he entertained the opinion that 
Slavery ought not to be extended over the Ter 
ritories of the country. All the power and 
weicjht of this distinguished man was thus 
brought to bear upon a new member entering 
upon his duties. I shall not comment upon 
these things. I merely state matters of fact. 
Things progressed in this way, and these efforts 
were made to proscribe and breakdown a mem- 
ber. After the election of Mr. Pierce to the 
Presidency — called to that high office by twenty- 
seven out of the thirty-one States — his party were 
flushed with victory, and confident that they 
had the reins of Government in their hands for 
all time to come. What, then, was the con- 
duct of the Senators representing that great 
party ? 

In the Senate at that time, we find, with Mr. 
Seward, Mr. Chase, who is now Governor of 
the third State in the Uniin, By his side we 
found Mr. Hale, who represents the State from 
which the President was taken, and we found 
Charles Scmxer, from Massachusetts. What 
was the conduct of the Senate toward these gen- 
tlemen ? In the second session of the Thirty- 
second Congress, the committees were arranged 
by the majority, and announced by the President 
of the Senate — the Senator from Indiana, [Mr. 
Bright] — on being questioned by Mr. Hale, as 
to the composition of the committees, stated in 
reply, "I believe that the gentleman [Mr. HaleJ 
is not on any committee, for the reason that we 
[the Democratic party in the Senate of the 
United States] consider him outside of any 
healthy political organization known to the 
country." That was the reply to the inquiry 
made by a Senator representing the State of 
New Hampshire, when, on looking over the list 
of committees, he saw that his name was not on 
any. 

Look a little further, and you will find that 
the great Slate of Ohio was proscribed by the 
Senate, because the people of Ohio saw proper 
in their wisdom to send to the Senate of the 
United States a man who believes that Slavery 
bhould not be extetided over the Territories of 
the country. He was proscribed by the Senate 
ot the United States, and was told that, because 
he entertained these opinions, he was not wor- 
thy to act on the committees of the Senate. 

So, also, was treated the distinguished Sena- 
tor from Massachusetts, Mr. Sumner. He had 
no place on any committee at that time. 

These men were proscribed by the party in 
power, because they were in favor of Freedom, 
and against Slavery. Will gentlemen deny that 
that was the cause? The very language of Mr. 
Bright, while acuag for the party, shows that 



that was the cause. Then here we find the voice 
of Ohio, of New Hampshire, and of Massachu- 
setts — so far as relates to the preparation of 
business in the United States Senate — silenced 
by the majority, because their representatives 
entertained opinions not in accordance with the 
opinions of the majority. A greater wrong than 
that never was committed by a political party 
of this country. Has it come to this, Mr. Speak- 
er, that because the free States of this country 
will take upon themselves to send men to the 
Senate of the United States to represent the 
interests of Freedom, they are to be proscribed ? 

We are told by the gentleman from North Car- 
olina, [Mr. Clingman,] that because of this are 
all the evils which are upon us ; that because 
the people of the free States see proper to send 
men here to represent Freedom, the evils which 
have since characterized the legislation of the 
country are to be attributed to that fact. 

Now, do gentlemen from the South wonder 
why it is that the people of the North have be- 
come aroused ? Do they wonder why it is that 
there is agitation in the country, when their Sen- 
ators are proscribed and denied the position to 
which the interests and constitutional rights of 
their States entitle them in the Senate of the 
United States, because of the opinions of the 
people whom they represent? Do gentlemen 
wonder that the people of the free States shall 
become roused, and that there should be excite- 
ment throughout the country? I tell you, gen- 
tlemen, that that is owing to your acts. I have 
sat here when " Sleepy Hollow " would hold all 
the men here who were not afraid to acknowl- 
edge that they were in favor of Freedom. I 
have been here when this little circle here would 
hold all the men who dared to rise and say they 
were opposed to the extension of Slavery. How 
is it now ? Look at these seats, now filled by the 
friends of Freedom. Ah, gentlemen, by your 
proscription you have aroused excitement. It 
cannot be allayed until justice has been done. 
If justice is not done, it cannot be allayed until 
you stupefy the people of the free States, and 
make them forget their love of Liberty: and that 
cannot be done so long as the sun shines in the 
heavens. They are contending for right ; they 
are contending for their constitutional rights. 

But gentlemen from the South take the Con- 
stitution, and .say they will interpret it. They 
deny us power in this case, and all their intier- 
pretations are against Liberty, and in favor of 
Slavery. It always means the protection, the en- 
couragement, the extension, the building up of 
that great ititerest which has heretofore con- 
trolled, atid which still strives to control, the 
legislation of the country. And yet we are told 
that we are the aggressors — that we are the 
agitators — that we are the men to be hunted 
down. Why? Because we see proper to come 
hf re to assert our rights — to say that the 'Sen- 
ate of the United S'ates is a theatre on which 
the Senatdrs from the free Stales shall be per- 



6 



mitted to have free action and free speech — 
that they are not to be proscribed by a chair- 
man representing the great Democratic party — 
that because the people see proper to send them 
there to represent free principles, their voices 
are not to be hushed. It is on this account that 
the excitement has been created throcighout 
the country. And I say to gentlemen, with all 
candor, and having no desire to add to the ex- 
citement, that they must do justice if they wish 
to see this excitement suppressed. It is not 
for them to get up here, and to tell us that it is 
because there are four or five gentlemen whom 
they call Abolitionists in the Senate. Justice 
is not to ba met in that way ; and quiet and 
peace are not to be given to the country in that 
way. 

Now, Mr. Speaker, I have been diverted from 
my original plan of argument. I did not de- 
sign to say a word on this subject, further than 
to present an argument upon the question im- 
mediately before us. I wish to approach the 
matter, as the gentleman from Georgia [Mr. 
Foster] said he approached it yesterday — with 
calmness, and without bias or prejudice ; with 
a desire to do justice, and to investigate the 
matter with all the candor which I am capable 
of. I was thrown from my line of argument 
by the remarks of the gentleman from North 
Carolina, [Mr. Clixgman,] which I thought re- 
quired an answer to be made, and I have made 
it. I do not see in his seat the gentleman from 
Georgia who last addressed the House, [Mr. 
Foster.] I reciprocate the kind feelings wbich 
he expressed, aad the desire which he evinced 
that there should be nothing done here to add 
to the excitement of the country, or which 
would influence us in such a degree as to warp 
our judgment on this subject. The gentleman, 
before he closed his speech, told the gentleman 
from Ohio [Mr. Bingham] to go to the South, 
and witness some of the scenes which he had 
witnessed. I was pleased with the manner in 
which he spoke of the dying scenes which he 
had witnessed among the slaves of the South — 
how they rejoiced, and how they thanked their 
God for Slavery — and how they passed off with 
hallelujahs upon their lips. I rejoiced that, 
although these men were bound down by op- 
pression, there was that in the Go»pel which 
was calculated to lift them above the trials to 
which their circumstances subject them; and 
that, when their shackles should fall off, their 
liberated spirits would wing their flight to that 
country where oppression and manacles are 
not known. 

I thought that gentleman, instead of admin- 
istering his rebuke to my friend from Ohio, 
[Mr. Bingham,] for his eloquent denunciation 
of the aggressions of Slavery in Kansas, should 
have turned around to the gentleman from 
North Carolina, [Mr. Clingman,] and commend- 
ed the teachings of that Gospel which he preach- 
es, the teachings of that Gospel which liberates 



the souls of the slaves, and makes them happy, 
and had said to the gentleman from North 
Carolina that that Gospel has power to allay 
the wildest passions of men, and do away wiih 
the necessity of that personal chastisement, 
which, the gentleman from North Carolina 
would have us believe, was alone capable of 
producing that orderly conduct and dignified 
deportment which are necessary for a legisla- 
tive assembly. That would have been a more 
pleasing exhortation to me, than the reason 
given why the slaves were made happy. It was 
the Gospel, and not Slavery, which made the 
souls of the poor enslaved men rejoice ; it was 
the Gospel which qualified them for a happy 
state, and enabled them to count their present 
afilictions light, in view of an eternity of glory; 
and that same Gospel would qualify us all to 
discharge our duties better, and bid every slave 
go free. 

If the gentleman from Georgia had admin- 
istered some such lectures, it would have been 
appropriate, and we all would have received it 
from him in good temper, and with becoming 
thankfulness, because it is true that that is 
what is wanted among men. And it is because 
the teachings of this Gospel, which can make 
even slaves happy, is so much disregarded by 
men in the various positions in society, and in 
the legislative halls, that we have to enforce 
the proprieties and decencies of life by penal 
laws. I stand here as the advocate of that 
higher law, which, if universally obeyed, would 
better qualify men for all stations in life, whether 
humble or exalted. 

I desire now to say a few words upon the 
subject more immediately before the House. I 
consider it one of great importance, not so much 
on account of the personal bearings of the ques- 
tion, as on account of the importance of the 
principles involved. We have before us two 
reports from the committee appointed to invest- 
igate the subject, but there appears to be no 
difference as to the main facts of the case. 
That an assault was made upon Senator Sum- 
ner, on the 22d May, while sitting at his desk 
in the Senate Chamber, shortly after the Senate 
had adjourned, by P. S. Brooks, a member of 
this House, for words spoken in debate by the 
Senator, is not disputed. 

But the majority and minority do not arrive 
at the same conclusion. The majority recom- 
mend one course of action ; the minority rec- 
ommend no action at all, for the reason " that 
the assault upon Senator Sumner was not a 
breach of privilege," and that the " House has 
no jurisdiction over the assault alleged to have 
been committed, and therefore deem it improp- 
er to express any opinion upon the subject." 
After reading the report of the minority with 
some care, I must say that, in my opinion, they 
have failed to sustain the position which they 
have taken — that is, "that it is no breach of 
privilege, and that the House has no jurisdic- 



8 



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and he alone is to be the judge of how he °^ aXtS^ 
perform his duty, being responsible to his \-^^,„4, 
to the Senate, and his State, for the mai. 
which he performs it. If we acknowledj. 
personal responsibility of the Senator ti 
Brooks, or to any other person, for words spi 
in debate in relation to South Carolina, o, 
any other State, the freedom of speech is mi 
to depend upon the caprice or the intolerance of 
those who may dififer from us, and resolves itself 
into empty sound — a mere pretence, instead of a 
great constitutional right. 

Let this be understood to be the construction 
put upon that boasted constitutional privilege, 
and how long will it be before personal violence 
will be resorted to for every trivial offence, and 
blood alone would be considered a sufficient 
atonement for real or supposed injuries, and 
the Halls of our National Legislature would 
become the theatres upon which would be enact- 
ed some of the saddest scenes which could be 
perpetrated under the influence of the wildest 
excitements of human passion. 

I believe that it is owing to this wise provis- 




©\^ 



co^^; 

of speech, that we are 
lignified deportment 
^ option, characterized 
W \s. The rights and 
«- -I ^v- ^e involved, and they 
ft9 • .^at we shall vindicate and pre- 
jimpaired, all those rights and great 
principles confided to our care and protection, 
for the short period which they may be pleased 
to intrust us with them ; and we cannot shun 
responsibility by saying that it is a private 
quarrel, to be left to the individual wronged to 
seek redress as he may deem proper. The sanc- 
tity of the Senate Chamber has been invaded, 
and its privileges violated, by a member of a 
co-ordinate branch of the National Legislature ; 
and it becomes our duty, however unpleasant 
it may be, to vindicate the dignity of the Senate 
and the sanctity of its privileges, and to assert 
the power of the House in the punishment of 
the offenders. The House owes this to the Sen- 
ate, to the country, and to itself, and ought not 
to hesitate in the proper discharge of its duties. 



LIBRARY Qp 



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HOLUNGER 
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MILL RUN F3-1343 



